Pen Pals
by DragoNorgard
Summary: Ginny's reactions when she first writes in Tom's diary.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

_Dear Diary,_

_I'm not entirely sure how I got you. Mum must have slipped you into my school trunk when_

Ginny stopped. The ink was fading from the page. She picked up the little black book, and flicked curiosly through the pages. All were blank. Turning back to the page she'd been on, she tried again.

_De_

With a small and hurridly stiffled squeak, Ginny pushed her chair quickly away from the paper and got up. She was halfway to the door that led to the common room when something stopped her. She didn't want Percy to know. And Fred and George would just make fun of her. She could go to Ron, but that would mean revealing to Harry Potter she was scared of a diary just because it seemed was hard to write on and choked up ink. Biting her lip, she returned to the windowsill where she had been writing and peered at the diary.

_**Hello. My name is Tom Riddle. Who are you?**_

The writing was different to hers, bunched up and untidy. Ginny frowned. It didn't seem like a dangerous artifact. It looked more like something from Zonko's, she thought to herself, than some black magic item from far away. Picking up her quill, she wrote slowly:

_Hello Tom Riddle. I am Ginevra Weasley._

_**Do you like your name?**_

_I prefer being called Ginny._

_**How old are you Ginny?**_

Ginny thought that it was a stange thing for a book to want to know, but the way the ink kept sinking into the page and coming back again as new words fasinated her.

_I'm eleven. This is my second day at Hogwarts, and I'm tired of nobody ever listening to me._

_**Why isn't anybody listening?**_

_Most of the time they're too busy. Mum babies me because I'm the only girl in the family for several generations. My brother's are nice, I suppose, but they've all been here before, and know what to do. They kind of presume I'll know as well, I guess. The sorting hat put me in Gryffindor without even looking at my personality. All it said was: "A female Weasley! Off you go to Gryffindor!" I'm clever though, and I wouldn't have minded going in Ravenclaw. I don't think I'm brave though. I kept being silly when Harry Potter came over this summer. It was really embarassing._

_**Harry Potter?**_

Then it all came pouring out.

_I really like him. He's really clever and brave and loyal, he defeated the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, when he was only a baby, and no one knows how. Last year He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named tried to come back, and Harry defeated him again. My brother Ron, is his best friend, and Harry came over for the last part of the summer. He has jet black hair and amazing green eyes, they stare into your soul. I love him, but the only times he ever seemed to notice me was when I did something stupid, like put my elbow in the butter dish. He was really nice, but I always turned red when he looked at me, so he must think I'm an idiot._

_**Maybe he just can't show that he likes you. How did you find this diary?**_

_It was in one of my school books. I think it's something from Zonko's Fred and George forgot about._

_**Who are Fred and George, Ginny?**_

_My brothers. I've got six. Two of them have left school already, and I've just started. Bill is in Egypt working as a cursebreaker for Gringotts wizarding bank, and Charlie's in Romania studying dragons. The next oldest is Percy, he's a prefect in sixth year, but a bit full of himself. Then there's Fred and George, they're identical twins. They can be really cool, but they tease me sometimes. Ron is only one year ahead of me, he's twelve, but he's Harry's best friend, and I don't like going near Harry because he always looks at me, just kind of, nicely, and I go all wobbly and stammer and do silly things. I wish I could just go up to him and say 'Hi', but I can't. I bet he doesn't think I'm pretty anyway, I have carrot coloured hair just like all the rest of my brothers, and I have loads of freckles. It's really annoying._

_**Looks don't count, Ginny. And anyway, you sound quite pretty to me. Does having lots of brothers annoy you?**_

_Yes._

_**Why? I never had any brothers or sisters, what is it like?**_

_I suppose it's different for everyone Tom. My brothers are always playing Quidditch. It's really fun, and I'm a good seeker, or at least I think so. They never compliment me on how good I am though. I haven't played much yet though, at least, not while anyone was watching. Harry is really good at seeking Tom, he got on the team during first year, and they had to bend the rules to let him in. He's the youngest seeker in a century._

_My brothers are always teasing me. I know it's just a joke, but when you have four or five people making fun of you it can be very upsetting._

_**Some of your brothers don't sound very nice, Ginny.**_

_Sometimes they aren't. They seem to think of them as 'us', but I seem to always be excluded from the group. They offer to let me play Quidditch and help me out, but I feel a bit left out sometimes, especially when they talk about school. Hopefully now I can join in, because I go too. I have to go to bed soon._

_**Will you write tomorrow?**_

_Yes. Tom, I like you. I know this sounds strange, but do you want to be my friend?_

_**Yes. Goodnight Ginny.**_

_Goodnight Tom._

Ginny closed the book, smiling to herself. As she got ready for bed, she felt comforted by the fact that at least she had one friend that could understand her, even if that friend was a book. No, not exactly a book. More like a pen pal. In the darkness, Ginny grinned.


End file.
